It is so very hard to put into words what Dad meant to me – he was so very special- one in a million. He was many different things to the different people in his life but to me he was the greatest dad and a true family man - dedicated to Denise and I and his five grandchildren. I know he was so proud of us all. He was always supportive and there to offer encouragement and help whenever he could. He wanted the very best for us. Today, is the opportunity to celebrate Dad, his life and his love for his family and to let him know how much he is loved. To treasure the special memories, for there are so many: Our annual family holidays not forgetting his great suntans! The trips to the cinema to see the popular films of the day and how he was so pleased to see us enjoy them. Then of course there was always the annual trip to London after Christmas to see a pantomime or show – a tradition he carried on in later years when he became a granddad. The Saturday evenings in, watching’ The Two Ronnies’ and the ‘Morecambe and Wise’ show on TV. How he would tune into the radio on Saturday afternoons to listen and religiously record the football results (and wo betide anyone who dared to utter a single word whilst they were read out). He loved to watch Grandstand and Match of the Day. He was passionate about cricket and would go off on Saturdays to play cricket at Ferme Park Cricket Club – sometimes, Denise and I would accompany him (not that either of us understood a single thing about the game). How he would walk around the house with a radio fixed to his ear and listen to the Test commentary. I can see him now, wandering down his garden path with his shorts on and a pipe in his mouth. How he would mow the lawn so that it had stripes. His beautiful garden was always amass with brightly coloured flowers. How he would collect bucket loads of cherries from that enormous tree in the garden and we would eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner because there were so many of them. How he would pick raspberries from the bushes at the end of the garden behind the old garden shed. The pleasure he got from his beloved Siamese cat, Simba, who in later years, he would bring over to our house and take out in the garden on a lead when he came to visit us. How he scared our friends that night at the Halloween party when he dressed up with a mask, and sheet and under torchlight ran around the garden scaring half the children out of their minds – I can still recall how upset some of our friends were, although we laughed about it afterwards. That was Dad’s idea of good fun. In more recent years, how he enjoyed spending time with his sister, Jean and their evenings at the Conservative Club, and particularly the good price of the beer! The memories span a lifetime but I think that it was retirement that gave him a new lease of life and he dedicated his time to his five lovely grandchildren. For me, I will always remember his frequent visits to Hartley Wintney and the great times he spent with us. All those times at Christmas when he put up with being jumped on in excitement on Christmas morning; the hilarious time he dressed up as Father Christmas in a red plastic suit and pretended to come down our chimney; the fun we had playing charades, taboo and other such games (and how we always had a laugh at his expense, but he didn’t mind). The many day trips to places such as London Zoo, Chessington, Legoland, and Thorpe Park – he really was the ‘coolest’ granddad of all time as he rode down rides such as Dragon River and Loggers Leap. I will never forget the time he fell back in the boat on the descent down and I panicked thinking that he had fallen out because I couldn’t see him –we laughed so much about it afterwards that our sides ached. The enjoyment he got from the walks and pub lunches sitting outside in the sunshine enjoying a beer and his ‘all day breakfast’. The Barbecues in the garden. I will never forget how he read the Daily Telegraph every day (and would stack them up in his dining room) and I remember how Dad would cut out articles that he thought would interest me and bring them over when he visited. The many hours we spent sitting at the kitchen table at a weekend attempting to complete the Daily Telegraph crossword – even with the help of an atlas and crossword solver we rarely managed to complete it all – but it was fun trying and I miss sharing this with him. I vividly remember the numerous times he arrived at our house in his car and the children running downstairs yelling ’Grandad, Grandad’ and the beaming smile on his face as he came through the door- always with flowers in his hand for me. How he would walk along with his pockets bulging with change, his Melrose, polo mints and comb and he would stand and jingle them and drive us to distraction. And yet I miss that so much – I would do anything to have him back. There are so many happy memories I could go on and on. Dad, you were such a good man; your honesty and integrity, your sense of fairness and justice, your values, your generosity and your continual support and love for your family. You were truly a man of your word. I will cherish all the memories forever; you will live on in my heart and I will always miss you.